Division III Week Student Spotlight – Hannah Still
This week is NCAA Division III Week and member institutions across the country are celebrating the fourth-year event.
Division III Week, which runs from Monday through Sunday, is intended to recognize the academic and athletic accomplishments as well as the campus leadership and community service efforts of Division III student-athletes.
As part of Huntingdon College's participation in Division III Week, six student-athletes will be featured this week. Huntingdon senior Hannah Still is the first featured student-athlete.
By Chuck Tidmore
Sports Information Assistant
Name: Hannah Still
Year: Senior
Hometown: Wesley Chapel, Fla.
Major: Athletic Training
Career Goals: Pursue a career in athletic training
Sport: Women's Tennis
Athletic Accomplishments: A four-year player for the women's tennis team, Still is one of just two Lady Hawks to win 100 career matches during the program's NCAA era. Still is unbeaten this spring with a 10-0 record at No. 1 singles and a 10-0 record at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. For her career, she has a 60-16 singles record, 52-24 doubles record and 112-40 total record. She needs four singles victories, three doubles victories and six total victories to break the Lady Hawks' NCAA-era mark in each category. Still is a three-time All-Conference selection (twice in the Great South Athletic Conference and once in the USA South Athletic Conference) and was part of two conference runner-up teams in the GSAC. Still also competed in cross country as a freshman and was part of a GSAC runner-up team in 2011.
Academic Achievements and Campus Activities: Still is the Vice President of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. She has also volunteered at MANE, assisted in canned food drives and Toys for Tots and was a volunteer worker for the Jingle Bell Run.
What made you feel like Huntingdon was the right place for you? "Meeting my coach and adviser had a big impact on my decision and helped me realize Huntingdon is where I wanted to be. Meeting the members of the tennis team really left a good impression with me. I knew I wanted to go to school out of state, and by my second visit, I knew I wanted to be here because of the family feeling."
What has made your Huntingdon experience unique? "A lot of schools don't allow athletic training majors to compete in a sport while allowing you to work sporting events. It was really special that Huntingdon gave us this unique opportunity. The small-school setting has been good because of the personal engagement with the professors and the ability to become close with your classmates."
How has Huntingdon challenged you academically and athletically? "Being in the AT program, it's been difficult to be a student-athlete because of the challenge of working a sport out of season and working a sport in season. But that challenge has helped me develop better time-management skills, and it shows me that I made the right choice regarding my major. Overall, it's been a great experience."
What has been your biggest highlight as a Huntingdon student-athlete? "The biggest highlight has been being able to make the conference tournaments with my team every year. Being able to go to the finals in my freshman and sophomore years and the semis my junior year, it's been a cool experience every year I've been here."
As a student-athlete, what is your impression of Division III now compared to your first season? "I didn't really know what to expect coming into Division III because I was mainly looking at Division II schools. But I have loved every minute of Division III. It has been more challenging than what I expected it to be. I have competed against several student-athletes, who have been great opponents, and I think could compete in higher levels of tennis."